Wash Away Her Sorrows
by 88KeysOfSadism
Summary: Post-Misplaced. "She heard thunder roaring from outside, and felt a sudden desperate need to stand in the rain. To let the heavens wash away her sorrows, as if that would work..." Chalant.


**So I know that I should really be updating Tribulation, but I'm not. LOL Sorry about the cliffys over there. Anywho, I was watching Misplaced (again), and I watched the last scene and this instantly popped into my head. So I wrote it. Hope you guys like it.**

**ALSO, two things:**

**1. I would seriously LOVE a cover for this and for Tribulation. And for all my stories actually, but mainly just this one and Tribulations. Except I can't draw to save my life. Seriously. Even my stick figures are deformed. SO, if anyone would like to draw me a picture for any one of my stories, I would be incredibly grateful. Lemme know in replies, and email me or PM me or whatever.**

**2. I don't own Young Justice. Otherwise, this would have happened. **

**ENJOY!**

* * *

"And my room's right next door if you need anything."

"Thanks. I, uh, could… use a little alone time, okay?"

Artemis and M'gann exchanged a look and nodded.

"Of course," said Artemis graciously before leaving the magician's room. Robin followed after them, but stopped at the threshold. There was so much he wanted to say to her, so much he wanted her to understand… But he stopped and left, knowing that when he'd been in her place, he wouldn't have wanted to hear it either.

The door slid shut on the magician. As soon as she was sure they were out of earshot, Zatanna sat down on her new bed. Sure, the Cave was cool. It was actually kinda awesome. Her room was built right into the rocky wall, and if she'd been there under better circumstances… But the dark, carved out room was just so different from the light blue walls, and the floorboards that creaked whenever she tried to sneak out at night, and her father's warm embraces and…

The tears fell without warning, brimming over as they'd threatened to do for so long now. She closed her eyes as the tears welled up in her eyes, letting them slowly stream down her face. She was alone now. There wasn't anyone in the League who could teach her how to use her powers.

There wasn't anyone to call father.

She'd been told, by the stoic, completely apathetic Batman nonetheless, that she would be sent into the adoption system in Gotham in hopes that she would be able to find a family. He also told her that Bruce Wayne was going to pay her funds for Gotham Academy, so she'd be able to have a decent education while she was there. Of course, none of that was going to happen for a while now. She still had a couple months before she had to move out of the Cave.

She still had a couple of months before the opportunity arose for her to get foster or adoptive parents. Someone else who would expect her to call him 'Dad' or 'Father'. She didn't want to call anyone else father. She still had a father. He just… She swallowed, refusing to let her thoughts travel down that path.

There wasn't anyone who understood her.

No matter how many times "I'm sorry" crossed the lips of a friend or stranger, it made no difference. A funeral service had been held for "John Zatara" as he'd been called under his secret identity. Any friends of "John" had gathered to pay their last respects, as the story Batman had insisted she put out claimed that he'd died, though how remained a secret. "I'm sorry for your loss," had been said so many times, Zatanna was beginning to doubt that the words had ever been sincere at all.

Even from the team. They all acted sympathetic, and she was sure it was heartfelt. But none of them understood. Nobody understood. She was alone in that.

Completely and entirely alone.

That was the thought that caused her to curl up on her bed and cry for as long as she could.

After what felt like several hours, Zatanna's sobs became silent. She'd run out of tears, and all that was left was a salty residue. She wiped away the remaining wetness as she sat up again, placing her feet back on the rocky floor. She heard thunder roaring from outside, and felt a sudden desperate need to stand in the rain. To let the heavens wash away her sorrows, as if that would work.

"E-enog eb s-seohs eht t-tel," she whispered, watching as her footwear vanished. The floor was colder than she'd expected, but she didn't care. Any external discomfort was better than the gnawing pain she felt inside.

She left her room and wandered, not knowing where her feet would take her, but not caring even if she did. After a couple of minutes, she found herself at the back door to the Cave. A solid steel wall was right in front of her, the storm right on the other side. She opened the doors and stepped outside.

The rain fell in huge sheets, covering everything in sight. It tossed the waves on the sea, making the ocean appear angry. The wind whipped through the trees, calling the branches to mimic the wild waves. She walked out towards the storm, doing her best to not slide on the slippery rock.

She reached the edge of the cliff-side path and sat down, her legs dangling off the edge. Her hair drooped down in front of her eyes, sticking to her face with the force of the rain. Her clothes had already been soaked through. She didn't take the effort to mutter the simple spell that would dry them and keep them dry. The rain was calming to her, and for just a couple of minutes, she could focus on the cold rain as it splattered against her body, washing away the remnant tears and plastering her hair to her face.

Zatanna wiped some of her hair out of her face and tucked it behind her ear. For a while, she just sat there, watching the waves and trees locked in a furious dance with the wind and rain. It took her quite some time to realize that there was someone sitting beside her.

"How did you know I'd be here?" she asked softly, her voice cracking from lack of use.

Her companion gazed out into the dark storm and shrugged. "I would have come here too."

She looked at him, noticing how he seemed not to care that his hair was sticking to his face too, or that his glasses were being streaked by the raindrops.

"Do you want me here?" asked Robin, turning to look at her. His concern and sympathy was evident, even though his eyes were hidden. Zatanna was okay with the concern, but she didn't want his sympathy. It was false, and she knew it.

"Why?"

He looked at her with confusion, not understanding.

"Why do you look sympathetic? You don't understand; none of you understand! I'm so sick of people pretending like they know what I'm thinking and feeling! I'm sick of their sympathy! I'm sick of your sympathy!" Her voice had risen, and she was glaring at him now. His face showed shock, like he hadn't expected this from her.

The dark-haired boy opened his mouth to speak, but she turned away from him and got to her feet.

"Save it, Robin," she muttered.

His hand wrapped around her wrist as she rose. She tried to squirm out of his grasp, but she was stronger than he'd expected. She looked back at him, and was shocked to see sorrow and regret on his face.

"I'm sorry, Zee," he whispered, using his pet name for her. He let go of her arm and looked back out to the raging ocean.

Zatanna instantly felt guilt for her outburst, but she refused to apologize. She sat down next to him again, looking at him. He seemed to be battling with something internal, like he was tempted to tell her something. Finally, he spoke, but he continued to face the storm.

"I do understand though." His voice was low and soft, almost drowned out by the peals of thunder. She looked at him in both surprise and questioning. Robin turned back to her, finally meeting her gaze and understanding her unspoken appeal to explain.

"When I was about eight, both of my parents died," he whispered. Her eyes widened, and the guilt washed over her in huge crashing waves like the ocean before. "I watched it, too." He let out a small chuckle. "I was furious, and I almost didn't want to get taken in. I didn't want to call anyone else mother or father. I had parents; no one could replace them, even if they'd died."

He looked her dead in the eyes; he might have had sunglasses on, but she could still tell. "I felt like the world should have stopped. My parents were dead; how dare the sun still come out, bright and cheerful like nothing tragic had happened? I stood in the rain as they were buried. That's how I knew you'd be here; somehow, my seven year old self was convinced that the rain would wash it all away. The pain, the nightmare I was living in. But it didn't." He looked up at the sky. "It never works."

Zatanna followed Robin's gaze, letting the raindrops fall directly on her face. Lightning streaked across the sky, illuminating the world for a brief second before the light faded away and everything became dark once more. When lightning crashed again, his gaze had fallen back to her face, watching her look up at the rain. He reached out and encased her hand in his smaller one, causing her to look back at him.

"You might think you're alone, Zee, but you're not. I know exactly what you're going through."

He squeezed her hand, and she returned the gesture, trying her hardest not to cry. Her words had been so thoughtless, so cruel, especially considering who they'd been aimed at.

"I'm sorry, Robin," she whispered.

He smiled warmly at her through the darkness. "You didn't know."

And then it all moved so fast. One second he was right in front of her and the next second he was inches away from her. Their lips met and she sank into the kiss, knowing he could probably taste her tears. She was shocked to realize he'd been crying too, but ignored it and closed her eyes. Lightning leapt across the clouds, illuminating the two teenagers until finally, he pulled away and put his forehead against hers, still holding her hand.

"Things change. But some things don't."

"I guess Artemis wasn't lying when she said you had a crush on me," muttered Zatanna, grinning like a little kid.

Robin laughed and she could see him blush when lightning cracked once more. "I told her not to tell you," he said quietly.

She giggled softly. "Some people are bad at keeping secrets," she whispered, wiping water out of his eyes.

"Some people aren't," Robin replied.

"I've always been able to keep a secret," she whispered, reaching up towards his glasses. He raised a hand to stop her, but then took them off himself.

A bolt of light descended from the sky, illuminating the younger teen's face for just a moment, just long enough for her to see his eyes.

They were a bright electric blue, a sharper, purer blue than even her own. Even in the brief second she saw them, she could tell that his eyes held a great sadness, a great wisdom, and a great age beyond his years.

He took his glasses back from her, placing them back on his face.

"Your eyes are beautiful," she whispered. "I wish I could see them more often."

He grinned at her. "Batman's rule."

"Does he have a rule about dating?"

"I've always been able to keep a secret."

She smiled at him. He leaned closer so his lips met hers.

And for just a second, the rain really did help her wash away her sorrows.

* * *

**I almost cried writing this. Seriously. **

**Thinking about maaaaybe a sequel showing her new life and mushy stuff, despite how cruddily I write romance... Any thoughts on that?**

**Reviews are amazingly fantastic! Love you guys!**


End file.
